crime

Elementary school principal arrested for possession of stimulants

27 Comments

Parents of children at Otani elementary school in Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, expressed concern Saturday after the school principal was arrested for possession of stimulants.

According to police, the principal, Ikuhiro Matsubara, 57, was arrested on Friday. Police said he had confessed to buying the stimulants from a man in Kochi Prefecture, NTV reported.

The school called a special meeting for parents on Saturday. About 400 parents attended, with some expressing concern for the children's emotional well-being.

Teachers and parents told media that the principal had been well liked and respected. Some parents asked at the meeting how they should explain the principal's arrest to their children, NTV reported.

The school said it will have two counselors available, if needed, for children on Monday.

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27 Comments
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Some parents asked at the meeting how they should explain the principal’s arrest to their children, NTV reported.

In other words, they all want to be sure they'll be telling the same lie.

1 ( +9 / -8 )

Yet we have police who get drunk and grope women on trains...Stupid drug laws....

7 ( +13 / -6 )

"Elementary school principal arrested for possession of illegal stimulants"

The pricinpal? wow!

exactly what was the drug?

vs

"About 400 parents attended, with some expressing concern for the children’s emotional well-being."

check that out....

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Instead of saying stimulant - can’t we be a little more precise with the name of the drug?

5 ( +6 / -1 )

An enlightened principal. A stressful job needs some relief, some Japanese can't drink alcohol so I can see a need to seek alternatives, when those that can't drink see others in an happy altered state from alcohol. I hope they can see that this is not as seriouse as it is made out to be.

-7 ( +4 / -11 )

For those wondering what the drug was, Japanese media reported it as cocaine.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Cocaine ? That sounds a little more "serious" than "weed" (or whatever they call the stuff). May be a good time for parents to teach their kids that drugs are dangerous both for health and for being "locked up"...

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Drugs wouldn't be that dangerous if people were allowed to know what they were buying, which would eliminate one of those problems and almost all of the other one.

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

If a parent doesn't know how to explain actions and consequences to their children, they FAILING as a parent. beyond that Cocaine in Fukuoka, really!!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Anyone who thinks the school principle doing coke is ok needs their head read, perhaps a little pot now and again , but coke, meth, heroin, lsd etc are a little different.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

He obviously should have stuck to doing "good" drugs like the other teachers and parents - smoking and truckloads of alcohol. The poor kids wouldn't need all the counseling then. "Kids, drugs are bad... mmmkay?"

1 ( +3 / -2 )

exactly what was the drug?

Most likely Meth or Ecstasy. Marijuana and Cocaine, while both illegal drugs in Japan, are covered by different laws (Cannabis Control Act and Narcotics and Psychotropic Control Act respectively). Meth or Ecstasy are covered by the Stimulants Control Act. While JT is can be creative in their translations sometimes, I can see no reason for someone arrested for anything other than violation of the Stimulants Control Act having possession of (psycho)stimulants.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

"...but coke, meth, heroin, lsd etc are a little different."

Storm: I hate to tell you this, but LSD has fallen out of fashion these days.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The Japanese paper drays he was mainlining stimulants and that he had tracks on his arms. The dude was banging up speed or coke. And he's 57 years old! Pretty over the top behavior for a guy in his position and age.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Oh brother...give me a break...400?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

They are all the same under Japanese law.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Jessica Mari Saito, you say the J media reported it as cocaine. Where did you see/hear that?

All the J sources I have checked so far say he had several syringes and a little bag of 覚せい剤 (Kakuseizai), which usually means Methamphetamine/Speed.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

School principal's put in at least 15 hour days & often go in on the weekends as well . I guess coffee wasn't enough to keep him going .

0 ( +0 / -0 )

nandakandamanda, -> News Watch 9 on NHK.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Your information is incorrect. Neither the police nor media have said it was cocaine.

"Otani elementary school in Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, *expressed *concern Saturday after the school principal was arrested for possession of stimulants."

the school expressed concern....what does Japan's judicial and criminal courts drug law express?

Does he keep his Japanese job?

Does he go to Japanese jail?

Does he lose his Japanese passport?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Does he keep his Japanese job? Does he go to Japanese jail? Does he lose his Japanese passport?

Sheesh. Should be obvious.

A. Yes, of course.

B. No. He'll pay a fine, being a first offence.

C. Of course not. He's a Japanese citizen. They cannot revoke a citizenship granted at birth.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

For those wondering what the drug was, Japanese media reported it as cocaine.

I guess for us non-Japanese readers the J-media have deemed it unnecessary to provide us with such trivial details. Before reading the quote above I had been assuming it was like sleeping pills or pain meds which the guy bought illegally and the police wanted to bury the fact for lack of impact in the media prosecution of the dude. Shame on whoever for not reporting it as 'stimulants' which is hugely opaque.

Does he keep his Japanese job? Does he go to Japanese jail?

The prosecutors will demand the most harsh sentence on the books being an educator of young minds. Your position in society determines how deep they will bury you in Japan, not the offense itself unfortunately. If you're a politician you resign in disgrace, end of story. A public servant you're fired in disgrace, go through the court system and get off with a slap. If you're a corporate big-wig you get sentenced to jail with or without a suspension and time served depending on the individuals position in the corporate world, (ex-Livedoor CEO Takafumi Horie comes to mind as someone they buried deep).

But as an educator of young impressionable minds they will hang this guy out to dry. I think the prosecutors see this as a positive as this is a far better way of sending the anti-drug message to children. >"See what happens when you use drugs, ain't pretty, is it! Use drugs and you will have no future like this guy!" and a picture of sensai on the poster. He might have got off more lightly if he had committed a lewd act but drugs, bye, bye!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Being a principal must be a stressful job

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The news as always reported it as a stimulant, so we can not know what it was. What's interesting about this case to me was how he got caught. He was arrested on school grounds a strange choice by the police. If he had been a 'person of concern' for some time I would imagine he would have been arrested at his home to avoid scaring the kids or causing a scene. The fact that he told them he bought the drugs from a man in Koichi suggests they hadn't followed his from its source. Did he bring the drugs onto school property? Did someone spot them and report them? Was he caught taking the substance? In Japan, if the drug is in your system its enough to be charged so its not necessary for him to have had anything on him but the question still remains, why arrest him at school?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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